Form for casting blocks



Jan. 30, 1945. A. E TRO|EL 2,368,502

FORM FOR CASTING BLOCKS Filed Nov. 9, 1942 /Oj /0' [l @i ff 9 U U I,

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/V INVENTOR. /4 APT/#UQ E. TQQ/5L Patented Jan. 30,1945

f UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE f 12,368,502". .K

y FORM Fonf'cnsrrmc Broc-Ks l Arthur E.'.Troiel, Berkeley, Calif. y Iapplication-November s,1942,*seria1N0;'464,987

admins.' tores-421) yThisv invention relates to yformsA for castingblocks and particularly toforms for casting `a plurality of cubical orrectangular objects of y identical dimensions. Cubical or rectangularblocks of concrete or other similar material lcapable of being castinforms are useful in many purposessuch as foundation stones or buildingblocks, -and recently blocks of heavy aggregate concrete have come intouse as ballast blocks rfor trimming or balancing large ships. Blocks`of. this kind should be uniform in shape and fdi' mensions vand theforms in which' they aref'cast should be `sufciently. durable to permitthem-to be used an' indefinite number of times,y but should belinexpensive in construction, Alight to handle and easy to strip Vfromthe aast blocks after they have set.' ,I

It is the object of the present invention-to'fprovide forms having all'of the requisites above l mentioned and to provide Vforms for castingcubes or. .similar shapes eiciently and inexpensively and forcasting`them in tiersor groupgwhichv are capable of being easily handledvandtransported byappropriate machinery.`

One form `of the presentin'vention is illustrated inthe accompanyingdrawing fand 1described :in Vdetailin the following specication whereinreference is made to the drawing.

In the drawing: l I f Fig. 1 is a perspective view of oneiendofaset offorms .embodying the present invention and illustrated as set-upforpouringon blocks spre-1 viously cast in the same set' of forms;

Fig. 2 is a side elevationl of one'ofr thewlon gitudinal form platesincluded in the set shown in Fig. 1; .and

Fig.' 3 is .aside elevation of one of the transverse form plates shownin Fig. `1.

The set of forms illustrated in the dravvin is designed for casting agroup of cubical blocks,` the group being three blocks wide and sixblocks long. While this is suiiicient to illustrate the structure of theforms and the principles of the invention, it should be understood thatany number of blocks may be cast at once depending upon their size andupon convenience in handling the forms. As to convenience in handling,vit has been found that in casting 10%' inch cubical ballast blocks,forms accommodating three blocks in their width and 11 in their length,or 33 blocks in all, are of a convenient size to be eiciently set up andstripped "by no more than two men working without mechanical liftingequipment. I

As illustrated in the drawing, the forms con sist of vertically disposedlongitudinall `form plates lilly the details of constructionof whichare'- shown in1ig42, and transverse lform plates I!,

one of which' `is illustrated `in Fig. '3.y Both types remainder l ofthe transverse plates II so that they extend downwardly `a couple ofinches, the

lower hedges --of vthe intermediate longitudinal plates being retainedin' the grooves by the blocks previouslyy cast, Yand the end .plates andside'glilates overlapping the outer surfaces of thesevblocks to retainthe whole form in position.

The: lengths ofV all-the plates depend, of course,

upon 'the -number vofbloclzs to be cast. The longitudinal plates Ill areprovided with a plurality -of spaced' vertical slots I3 extending'frointheir top edges 'downwardly toward their bottom edges and spaced apart adistancev 'determined by the dimensions of the, blocksto be cast.' Thetransverse plates II are` provided with similar slots indicatedat'lwhich extend from theirbottom edgesupwardly. By registeringthe slotsinthe two 'types of plates,r they may be assembled intheposition'illustrated in Fig, -1r and there interlocked to formcubical reticules which; serve as forms for the casting of individualblocks. I

. Each end'of every vplate is provided with flangesl such. as indicatedat I5 `which serve to back up and support the outermostplates when ytheyare assembled; and retain the plates against bulging outwardly due tothevveight of the concrete whichis 'cast injthe forms.

` the flanges I5 areV preferably formed on channellike members "I6 whichslide over the outer ends of the'zplate and project beyond the outerwalls of' the' assembled form and" which are riveted,

welded, or f otherwise securely fixed thereon; However, onthe-'outermost longitudinal plates'I 0,

the flanges I5 are formed as one part of right angular members I1 as inthis casethe double flange is unnecessary. The channel-like menibers i6and the angular membersy I1 are somewhatlighter in construction thanthey appear in the drawing' where their thickness is exag` gerated. Inpractice they are preferably formed by bending metal of substantiallythe same gage as the metal ofI which the forms are made. In

every'case the ends of the plates are provided with .perforations whichextend through the n channel members I6 or angle members I1, suchperforations being indicated at I8 in the drawing. These perforationsprovide a convenient purchase'ior a hook vor otherimplement `which maybeused in handling the forms and particu lIn most instancesy larly instripping them after the concrete is set, this stripping beingaccomplished by sliding the forms upwardly.

In use, the forms are iirst set up over wooden planks such as indicatedat I9 or other suitable foundation members and are iilled with concretewhich isl screeded ush with the top edges of the forms. The planks I9 inthis instance serve as the bottoms of the forms. When this rst level ofblocks has set suiiiciently to permit removal of the forms, thetransverse form members II are removed. This is accomplished by raisingthem upwardly, and as all of the forms are preferably sprayed with alubricant before they are poured and have smooth planar surfaces, theymay be withdrawn from their position between the blocks withoutdiiiiculty. After the form members I I have been stripped, the outermostof the longer members I which are then free are set aside and the innermembers ID are stripped upwardly but not entirely clear of the blockspreviously cast between them. The height of the'longitudinal formmembers is somewhat greater than the height of the blocks to be cast, asindicated in Fig. 1 where the dotted line 20 shows the position of thetop of a set of blocks over which the forms are being assembled. Thuswhen the central members ID are raised to the proper height forassembling the forms, a couple of inches of their lower edges are stillretained in the spaces 2l between the blocks. In order to retain all ofthe members I 0 at this elevation, they are slotted, as indicated at 22in Fig.` 2, from their -bottom edges upwardly to receive an elongatedpin 2,3 which extends through the slots and which rests on the topsurface of the set of blocks previously cast. The pins 23 extend acrossall of the blocks and through registering slots 22 in all of the platesI 0. With the longitudinal form plates I0 supported in this manner, theintermediate transverse plates il are assembled in place with theirlower edges supported just above the spaces 2I which extend transverselyof the set of blocks, while the endmost transverse plates which arewider extend downwardly to overlap the previously cast blocks.

The lower edges of all of the longitudinal form plates and the two endtransverse plates are thus firmly held by the blocks previously cast.The blocks serve as the bottoms for the forms. It is preferable to placea layer of building paper or similar material on the bottoms of theforms so that in casting a set of blocks,` they will not adhereto theblocks previously cast. This paper is placed over the pins 23 so thatwhen the new batch of concrete is poured it does not embrace the pinwhich is protected by the paper, but leaves it free to be vwithdrawn andreplaced at a higher elevation when the forms are again stripped.

With forms constructed in the manner above described, they may bestripped and replaced at a higher elevation as many times as desired,convenience usually limiting the height of the pile of blocks so cast to4 or 5 blocks. pile of blocks after being cast constitutes a unit whichmay be conveniently handled for transportation. Underlying the planks I9upon which the first layer of blocks is cast are transverse planks suchas indicated at 24 which rest upon foundation timbers 25. With thisarrangement a conventional lumber carrier which is a motor vehicle witha chassis comprising high spaced frames so that it may be driven over apile of lumber or the like to straddle the same, may be employed totransport the entire pile, as it may be driven over the pile and iscapable of lifting the same for transportation by means of theprojecting ends of the planks 24. The forms are easily stripped frombetween the blocks after the concrete is set by reason of theperforations I8 whichprovide a purchase for one end of a hook, notshown, the other end of which may be connected with a lever, which,fulcrumed on a wooden block resting on top of the concrete casting givessuiiicient leverage to overcome the friction and draw the form platesupwardly. The spaces 2l between the blocks serve to support and retainthe form plates in their proper positions as they are movedprogressively upwardly in casting successive layers of blocks.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Forms for casting blocks comprising longitudinal and transversevertical plates arranged to'provide a plurality of reticules into whichconcrete may be poured, said longitudinal plates and the .transverseplates at the ends of the forms only extending downwardly beyond thebottom of the casting space, whereby upon upward stripping of the formstheir downwardly extending edges will embrace the blocks cast to supportthe forms for casting a second layer.

2. Forms for casting blocks comprising longitudinal and transversevvertical plates arranged to provide a plurality of reticules into whichconcrete may be poured, said longitudinal plates and the transverseplates at the ends of the forms only extending downwardly beyond thebottom of the casting space, whereby upon upward stripping of the formstheir downwardly extending edges will embrace the blocks cast to supportthe forms for casting a second layer, the downwardly extending portionsof the longitudinal plates being slotted upwardly to receive supportingpins which rest on the previously cast blocks.

ARTHUR E. TROIEL.

The entire

